138040: The Muslim has to pay attention to good manners and modesty when he mixes with people

What is the ruling on deliberately passing wind loudly in front of people?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly feeling embarrassed with regard to things that
people usually feel embarrassed about and try to avoid is something that is
required, and paying attention to people’s customs and what they regard as
good or bad is part of good manners; whatever people customarily regard as
disliked is blameworthy, and whatever people customarily regard as offensive
is offensive – so long as Islam does not teach anything to the contrary.

Al-Bukhaari (3484) narrated that Abu Mas‘ood (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “Among the words of the earlier Prophets that still remain with
people are: If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.”

Al-Haafiz said: The words “then do as you wish” appear in the
imperative (a command) but what is meant is a threat, i.e., do as you wish
and Allah will requite you.

Or the meaning may be: look at what you want to do; if it is
something that one not would feel ashamed of, then do it, but if it is
something that one would feel ashamed of, then do not do it. End quote.

A Bedouin came to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and
said: O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, teach me the religion. He said: (It is) to bear
witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allah, to establish prayer, to pay zakaah, to perform pilgrimage to the
House (the Ka‘bah) and to fast Ramadan; be open and do not be secretive;
beware of doing everything that one may feel ashamed of.

At-Tabaraani narrated in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (312)
from ‘Ikrimah ibn Khaalid that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allah be pleased
with him) said to his son, when he was dying: O my son, you will never meet
anyone more sincere towards you than me. When you want to pray, do your
wudoo’ properly, then pray as if you think you will not pray again. Beware
of greed, for it is akin to poverty, and you should have a lack of interest
(in worldly matters) for it is richness. Beware of doing or saying anything
for which you have to apologise. (If you heed this advice), then do what you
like.

A wise man said: Beware of what you may have to apologise for
and what you may feel ashamed of being mentioned, for the only thing you
have to apologise for is sin and the only thing you have to feel ashamed of
is abhorrent actions.

Makaarim al-Akhlaaq by
al-Kharaa’iti, 1/484

No doubt deliberately passing wind in front of people without
any excuse is contrary to modesty and decency. It is a kind of bad manners,
the like of which no one does except foolish people. It was narrated from
one of the salaf that this action was one of the evils that the people of
Loot (peace be upon him) did.

Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, said (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And (remember) Lout (Lot), when he said to his people:
‘You commit Al-Fahishah (sodomy, the worst sin) which none has preceded you
in (committing) it in the Alameen (mankind and jinns).

‘Verily, you do sodomy with men, and rob the wayfarer
(travellers, etc.)! And practise Al-Munkar (disbelief and polytheism and
every kind of evil wicked deed) in your meetings.’”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:28-29].

Ash-Shawkaani said in Fath al-Qadeer (4/285):

There was a difference of opinion concerning the munkar (evil
actions) that they did. It was said that they used to pelt people with
stones and show no respect to strangers. And it was said that they used to
break wind in their gatherings with no control. And it was said that there
was no reason not to believe that they used to do all of these evil actions.
Az-Zajjaaj said: In this there is an indication that it is not appropriate
for people to get together for the purpose of doing evil deeds or mocking
others. End quote.

It was narrated that Yazeed ibn Bakr al-Laythi said:
al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad was asked about the words of Allah, “And practise
Al-Munkar (disbelief and polytheism and every kind of evil wicked deed) in
your meetings” – what was that munkar (evil)? He said: They used to
break wind in their gatherings with no control; one of them would break wind
in the direction of another.

Tafseer Ibn Abi Haatim, 11/425

A similar report was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah, Ibn ‘Abbaas,
al-Qaasim ibn Abi Barzah and others.

One of the reports which indicate that passing wind is
something that one should feel embarrassed about is that which was narrated
by Abu Dawood (1114) from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who
said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If one
of you breaks wind during his prayer, let him hold his nose and leave.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

It says in ‘Awn al-Ma‘bood, 3/326:

“Let him hold his nose”– al-Khattaabi said: He instructed him
to hold his nose so that people would think that he has a nosebleed. This
comes under the heading of good manners in concealing a shameful matter,
hiding that which is offensive and giving the impression that what has
happened is something different. It does not come under the heading of
showing off or lying; rather it is a kind of euphemism, observing decency
and seeking to protect oneself from people’s criticism.

This is how people customarily behaved.

Al-Madaa’ini said:

One day Ash‘ab sat beside Marwaan ibn Abaan ibn ‘Uthmaan, and
there came out of Marwan wind that made a sound. So Ash‘ab got up and left,
so that the people would think that he was the one who had passed wind. When
Marwan went home, Ash‘ab came to him and said to him: Pay me back. Marwaan
said: What for? He said: Pay me back for the wind that I took responsibility
for instead of you, otherwise I will embarrass you (by telling people what
really happened). And he did not leave him alone until he had settled the
matter by taking something from him in return. End quote.

Nihaayat al-Arab fi Funoon al-Adab,
p. 393

Rather the lack of shame concerning such things is known
among nations other than the Muslim ummah.

Ar-Raaghib said in Muhaadiraat al-Udaba’, 1/445:

The Indians claimed that holding back wind could cause
serious illness and that releasing it spares one from illness, and that it
is the greatest remedy. On the day of their gatherings and festivals they do
not refrain from passing wind and they do not conceal the passing of gas
silently. And they do not see anything wrong with that or regard it as
funny. End quote.

Al-Bukhaari (4942) and Muslim (2855) narrated from ‘Abdullah
ibn Zam‘ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) admonished them for laughing at the passing of
wind and said: “Why does one of you laugh at what he does?”

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This indicates that it is not allowed to laugh when one hears
someone else break wind. Rather he should ignore it and carry on with
whatever he was doing, without paying any attention to it or anything else,
and pretend that he did not hear anything. This is good manners and proper
conduct with others. End quote.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked:

Nowadays, unfortunately, it happens that people get together
and they do not refrain from passing wind, and they laugh at it as if they
find it funny. If they are told to stop doing this blameworthy action, they
say, it is better than burping, and so on, and that there is no evidence to
suggest that it is not allowed. How should we respond to them? May Allah
reward you.

They replied:

It is not permissible to break wind deliberately or to laugh
at that, because it is contrary to decency and dignified manners. That is
not like burping, because burping usually happens involuntarily and people
do not laugh at it. But if a person passes wind naturally, without doing it
deliberately, there is nothing wrong with that and it is not permissible to
laugh at it, because it is proven that ‘Abdullah ibn Zam‘ah said: The
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade laughing at what
comes out of one naturally. Narrated by al-Bukhaari. End quote.

Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah,
26/222

With regard to passing wind – even if it makes noise –
because of an excuse, such as if one has no control over his flatulence, or
a disease in the colon, or one cannot hold it in, then there is nothing
wrong with that and it is not permissible for people to laugh at what he
does, because of the hadeeth quoted above.

Rather the issue has to do with the one who does that
deliberately, to make his friends laugh, and does not about what people
think or feel embarrassed in front of them, this is what is blameworthy.